National Council for Voluntary Organisations
Campaigning Effectiveness
Changing the World
Brian Lamb
Supporting
campaigning
a funder’s guide
Supporting campaigning – a funders guide
‘A combination of
money and passionately
held beliefs can create
enough momentum to
change the world.’
What is
campaigning?
UK Philanthropy’s Greatest
Achievements, Report Institute
of Philanthropy
You might call it influencing, voice, advocacy,
social change or campaigning, but all these
activities are about creating change. At
NCVO we use the word campaigning and
define this as the mobilising of forces by
organisations or individuals to influence
others in order to effect an identified and
desired social, economic, environmental
or political change.
But what is important is that campaigns
are created to produce a change. The impact
is the real change created by a campaign –
the difference it makes to people’s lives.
2
Contents
The current context 03
Campaigning leveraging social investment and sustainable
change to achieve maximum impact
05
Managing the funding of campaigning key considerations for successful funding strategies
07
What works key lessons in supporting sustainable change 10
Creating sustainable change in the future 12
Resources 13
Who is this guide for?
Trusts and philanthropic organisations are showing
an increased interest in funding campaigning work
to achieve sustainable change. Campaigning has
become a more established and mainstream way
of charities achieving their purposes, yet the principles
and practice of funding this area of work remain
underexplored. Many funders continue to be uncertain
about what is permissible and what is effective.
This guide aims to address those concerns and
support trusts in their thinking about campaigning
as well as providing insight to those approaching
trusts to fund campaigning activity.
Supporting campaigning – a funders guide
The
current
context
Promoting civic action,
influencing and campaigning as
part of the mix of voluntary and
community sector activities has
long been an acknowledged
part of what defines a healthy
sector and helps to form the
bedrock of a thriving civil
society, something that has
been recognised across
the political spectrum.
From Friends of the Earth’s campaign to secure
legally binding targets on carbon reduction to
Every Disabled Child Matters’ advocacy of carers’
rights, campaigns supported by charitable trusts
and philanthropy are changing the social and
political landscape. Investing in sustainable
change is now fully accepted and is reflected in
the guidance from the Charity Commission on
campaigning (CC9 Speaking Out Guidance in
Campaigning and Political Activity). With
continued pressure on public services a more
strategic approach to funding organisations
to help deliver sustainable change will become
even more important over the coming the years.
3
Over recent years there has
also been an increase in
campaigning by charities and
with this a bigger focus on
workforce skills to match that
investment. With clear
workforce standards for
campaigners (National
Occupational Standards),
a professional qualification
(NCVO’s Certificate in
Campaigning) and a growing
body of knowledge about
what constitutes effective
campaigning the sector can
point to a track record of
success in delivering
sustainable change.
Public support for campaigning
by charities has also grown.
Campaigning is not only
accepted but also expected
by the public. A recent opinion
poll found that over half of the
public thought that charities
should directly lobby
government, and half of those
asked ranked lobbying as the
‘most economical’ and cost
effective activity for charities
to engage in.1
Trusts can therefore have
confidence that funding this
area of activity, when properly
managed and evaluated,
presents no greater risk than
other areas of charitable activity.
Indeed, with campaigning
relatively underinvested in
the UK, there are major
opportunities for trusts to show
leadership and have real impact.
This realisation is beginning to
be reflected in trust funding
policies. Research shows that
many more trusts are open to
the idea of funding campaigning
but still have concerns about the
best way to achieve their aims.2
At the same time there are many
voluntary and community
organisations (VCOs) that wish
to do more campaigning but do
not have the capacity. 3
With all the major political
parties committed to an
enhanced role for the voluntary
and community sector in the
coming years, trusts may want
to develop their thinking about
how to achieve greater impact
in what will become a more
complex funding environment.
Those with a clear strategy for
how they want to bring about
change, will be in a better
position to negotiate the
complex issues that will be
thrown up by the changing role
of the sector and the challenging
economic environment that
lies ahead.
‘Never doubt that a small
group of thoughtful committed
citizens can change the world.
Indeed, it is the only thing
that ever has.’
Margaret Mead
US anthropologist (1901 – 1978)
FP Synergy poll 2007 quoted in Philip
N
Parvin, Friend or Foe? Lobbying in British
Democracy. Hansard Society. (2007)
2
Funding for Sustainable Change.
Amy Rosser and Sarah Shimmin. DSC
and NCVO (2008).
3
Sarah Shimmin Challenges to
Effectiveness NCVO (2007)
1
Supporting campaigning – a funders guide
Key tools for
campaigning
There are a number of distinct
activities that trusts can fund as
part of an overall strategy to
achieve sustainable change.
Research and policy
– aimed at:
• researching the issues faced by
beneficiaries and developing
practical strategies for change
•p
roviding the evidence base
for taking action on an issue
• supporting a position or
evaluating an approach to be
pursued with government or
statutory bodies.
Influencing
– improve the capacity of
organisations to take learning from
research and service provision and
use this to influence government
and business to change legislation,
policy and practice.
Increasing the
effectiveness or
co-ordination of
campaigns
– support organisations to
formulate policies by consulting
beneficiaries, and then advance
these policies in a public setting and
work together to achieve change.
Public campaigning and
awareness-raising
– support and develop capacity
of organisations to promote and
publicise in order to galvanise or
change public opinion on an issue.
Political campaigning
– campaign to bring about a change
in the law to support wider changes
to rights, environmental protection
or establish additional entitlements
to services or to campaign for the
law to be enforced.
Building capacity
at the grassroots
– improving the capacity of
local community to campaign
or take civic action
– supporting particular groups to
better advocate for themselves.
Litigation
– support legal advice to individuals
or take legal action against public
bodies or government to secure
individual justice or achieve
collective change on the basis
of existing law.
4
Supporting campaigning – a funders guide
Campaigning
Leveraging social investment
and sustainable change to
achieve maximum impact
The reasons why more organisations are
drawn to using campaigning and advocacy
are not difficult to see. Campaigning and
advocacy work enables organisations to
achieve a greater impact than direct service
provision in isolation can achieve – addressing
the direct causes of social problems not just
their effects; cure not just amelioration.
Where campaigning results in sustainable
change, it can bring resources into other
areas of need not so amenable to advocacy.
5
Research and policy work can
highlight emerging issues or
reveal unmet need and help give
a voice to those without one,
promoting civic responsibility
and participation where none
exists. But support and
organisation is often needed to
build capacity in communities
and enable them to articulate
their needs. Trusts often play a
vital role in supporting the
means by which those without
a voice can be heard.
Raising public awareness and
campaigning can multiply the
effects of social investment
from government or other
partners that is many times
greater than investment in
fundraising or direct service
provision. This can be directly
through creation of new
streams of funding or more
indirectly through the creation
of entitlements or redirection
of funds. Many organisations
are now also becoming more
expert at presenting spend-tosave arguments, investments
in screening or early
intervention that reduce
expenditure on tackling the
long-term consequences of
unaddressed need.
Campaigning and advocacy
is sometimes the only action
possible. Especially when the
scale of the problem is such that
it is not possible to provide an
alternative to state-provided
services or private provision,
by ensuring that people’s rights
are enhanced or protected or
through creating entitlements
to services.
Better public policy is often
crucial to trusts achieving
their aims. Research and the
development of policy and
evaluation of practice also
provide the bedrock on which
service planning depends.
Even large foundations can
only contribute a relatively
small amount of money
compared with government
and statutory agencies.
Crucially only government has
the capacity to make profound
and consistent difference to
people’s lives through legislation
and by changing the context and
terms of engagement on which
the voluntary and community
sector operates. Trusts that
want to have more influence
over the context in which their
funding operates will look to
influence government and
statutory providers about
the overall terms of their
engagement. In turn this will
enable trusts to support other
projects that will deliver long
term sustainable change that
has more chance of success.
As government looks
more to the voluntary and
community sector as both a
means of identifying need and
then a partner in answering
those needs, trusts can play
an increasingly important
role in shaping the overall
context of the areas in
which the sector works.
Supporting campaigning – a funders guide
Supporting change at a national
and local level through political
campaigning
Every Disabled
Child Matters
Every Disabled Child Matters (EDCM) was founded to ensure
better rights and services for disabled children and their families.
Through a grant from the True Colours Trust they were able to employ
a full time campaigns team to pursue these aims. EDCM set about first
influencing the Treasury to conduct a cross-cutting review into provision for
families and children. At the same time EDCM also campaigned for a new
right for carers to ensure their needs are assessed properly. EDCM had a very
clear theory of change: additional support to families would alleviate the need
for even more statutory help, help to prevent family breakdown and lead to
better outcomes for children.
To help ensure this gained more traction in Parliament they lobbied the
Treasury who helped them to initiate a cross-party Parliamentary Inquiry. This
enabled the views of professionals, parents and young people to be focused
directly into Parliament. As a result of the review the Department for
Children Schools and Families introduced a major new service initiative
“Aiming High for Disabled Children”. This programme invested
£340m in local authorities to provide short-break services for
families of disabled children, support for parents groups
and other services as well as resources to evaluate
the impact of the initiative.
6
A management group
was also set up with Government that
involved representatives from parents groups
and VCOs to support the implementation of the
programme and act as sounding board for further development.
Original funding has since been matched by health service funding.
In addition, the statutory right for carers to have a short break was also
passed into legislation with cross party support. The trust originally
invested £200,000 in the campaign over a two-year period. Funding has
since been renewed and ongoing campaigning activities have been aimed
at ensuring that local authorities implement the initiative. Subsequently, the
Esmee Fairbairn Foundation has supported further research and helped to
co-ordinate an approach between funders for different aspects of the campaign.
Funding from the two trusts created an infrastructure of staff and
communications support that enabled the campaign to work closely with
parents to support them in campaigning for better local services. This was
achieved by promoting a charter for local authorities which required the
authority to sign up to clear commitments about how they were going to
support the needs of families and children.4
4
Case Study based on Broach et al.
Supporting campaigning – a funders guide
Key considerations
for successful
funding
Managing
the funding of
campaigning
Further Charity Commission
guidelines CC9, Speaking Out
Guidance on Campaigning and
Political Activity, published in
2008, make clear that it is
permissible for charities to
undertake campaigning and
political activity in the
furtherance of their purposes.
The guidance defines such
activities as:
1. Public or awareness
campaigning which is focused
on public attitudes and
behaviour and aimed at
mobilising the public’s support
for or against an issue or to get
them to take action.
Campaigning is a legitimate
arena for charitable activity.
Charity law is much more permissive
than is often thought and includes a
very wide range of activities. The 13
charitable purposes in the Charities
Act 2006 include ‘the advancement
of human rights, conflict resolution
or reconciliation or the promotion
of religious or racial harmony or
equality or diversity’, areas which
lend themselves readily to
campaigning and advocacy.
7
2. Political campaigning
which is focused on trying to
bring about a change in the
policy of Government or public
bodies with a view to either
preserve or change the law in
this country or abroad.
Trusts can have confidence
that funding campaigning and
advocacy is a legitimate activity
for them to pursue. “A Charity
cannot have political activity as
any of its charitable purposes...
However, political activity can
be carried out by a charity to
support the delivery of its
charitable purposes.” 5 (For a full
analysis of what is permissible
see Trustee guide to campaigning
and influencing – what you need to
know, NCVO 2010)
http://www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/
trusteeguidecampaigning
Campaigning and
risk management
Campaigning and advocacy
are sometimes seen as
inherently more risky than
service provision because they
attract more publicity. Where
campaigns rely on high public
visibility the potential impact
on the reputation of the charity
and funder needs to be
well managed.
While it is true that campaigns
can attract more profile and
occasionally controversy,
generally the public are
supportive of difficult issues
being raised, especially in areas
that are often neglected in
public debate.
‘Campaigning, advocacy
and political activity are all
legitimate and valuable
activities for charities
to undertake.’
Charity Commission,
CC9 Speaking Out Guidance on
Campaigning and Political Activity
Transparency and good
communications between
the funder and grantee are
important in managing risk in
campaigning and grantees need
to be clear about what methods
of campaigning they are
intending to deploy and discuss
any controversial issues as they
arise. Trusts can also look for
organisations that have a good
track record of managing public
relationships with government
and the media, but this is not
always the same as staying out
of controversy and speaking
Truth to Power.
The balance of risk also has to be
judged against the potential for
very significant change. Often it
is precisely by going outside the
current mainstream that
funders can have most impact
– a point recognised in the
funding plan of the Diana
Memorial Fund which states
in its strategic plan that:
‘…the Fund is not afraid to respond
to emerging issues of the day and
speak out on behalf of causes that
are not recognised or popular. The
Fund is proud to support groups and
causes that would otherwise find it
difficult to gain funding.’
It is rarely trusts who come
under attack when there is
negative comment. It is
important to anticipate
potential criticism, be clear
about the rationale for funding
and ensure that the work is well
evidenced and can be clearly
conveyed, so it is less open to
misrepresentation. It is crucial to
ensure that the trust and
grantee work closely together
to ensure clear and consistent
communication and that the
trust’s expectations are met.
It is also important to note
that much campaigning is not
controversial with the public
and the Charity Commission
receives relatively few
complaints on this area
compared to other charitable
activity. Government often
welcomes voluntary and
community sector contributions
on framing legislation and
policy as this can help to clarify
how legislation will affect
particular groups and thereby
improve legislation.
‘Historically there has been some nervousness about
funding charity campaigning work. We would offer
reassurance that there is much scope for funding charities’
campaigning activities as long as they are acting
within the legal and regulatory framework; funding
campaigning is an effective way that trusts and
foundations can support charities in their work.’
Caroline Cooke, Charity Commission
Head of Policy Engagement and Foresight.
5
harity Commission,
C
CC9 Speaking Out Guidance on
Campaigning and Political Activity.
Supporting campaigning – a funders guide
Providing support for
campaigning infrastructure
and involvement
‘Overall, the Diana, Princess of Wales
Memorial Fund and partners have struck
the right balance in relation to the extent of
risk carried, and the level of public profile
sought, in a project of this type.’
Local Voices, Global Ban evaluation, 2008
Local
Voices, Global
Ban-the campaign to ban
cluster munitions
Small focused grants
were made through LVGB supported
campaigning activities with the aim of
contributing to change at national levels; this was
primarily intended to influence a change in government
policy. In some cases, raising public awareness and shifting the
opinions of the target audience were also achieved. One positive
indicator of the scheme’s success has been both campaigners’ and the
Fund’s flexibility and agility to respond to changes in their national and
international policy environments.
The Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Fund (the Fund), has supported
work on clearance, risk education, rehabilitation of survivors and
campaigning on landmines and other explosive remnants of war. In 2003,
the Fund helped to set up the Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC) of 200 civil
society organisations seeking to ban cluster bombs.
The Local Voices, Global Ban (LVGB) initiative was conceived, in partnership with
Landmine Action and the CMC, as a way of building civil society campaigning
capacity to influence states to participate in the Oslo Process. LVGB provided
small grants ($500 to $6,000) to grass roots campaigning organisations
overseas, to ensure widespread governmental support for an international
ban on cluster munitions. In addition to this overarching aim, assessment
criteria included the following objectives:
Despite the small size of the average grant, the timeliness and appropriateness
of the LVGB funding generated influential campaign activity. Many grantees
pointed to their small grants being particularly useful in being available to invest in
national campaigns at the time of influencing parliamentarians, decision makers
and political processes, around the build up to the international Oslo process
conferences, which where considering a ban. At the time of the evaluation into
the campaign, 107 states had adopted a comprehensive treaty banning the
production, transfer, use and stockpiling of all cluster munitions including
many of the countries targeted by the campaign.
• To secure a strong cluster munitions treaty by building campaign
capacity in affected and strategically important countries
• To grow new campaigners in the global south
The campaign helped in giving many of the smaller organisations a
high profile voice in the debate and put pressure on their own
countries in way that might not otherwise have been
possible. The credibility and profile of the Fund
was also an asset in managing the public
profile of the campaign.6
Case based on the evaluation of the
Campaign by Chris Stalker (2008) Local
Voices, Global Ban: How small grants to
campaigners can contribute to global
change. (2008) Diana Memorial Fund
6
8
Supporting campaigning – a funders guide
Ensuring
beneficiary voice
Funders may be concerned about
their legitimacy to enter the field of
social change, rather than service
provision as some feel that they do
not have the mandate to act.
Ensuring the experiences and
aspirations of beneficiaries are
at the heart of a campaign can
improve both legitimacy and
impact.
Change is often long
term, unpredictable
and it is not always
clear what the end
results will be
Good evaluation
and reporting on
impact is crucial
to sustainable
change
It is difficult to justify long term
funding especially when the
intended outcome is unclear.
Campaigning can be hard
to evaluate. Change can be
long term, attribution between
inputs and impact can be difficult,
especially in a field where much
work is done in alliances.
Campaigning is not an exact
science but then neither is
service provision. The law of
unintended consequences
applies in both areas. Trusts
and grantees should have a
clear view of the intended
outcomes for any area of
endeavour and reasonable
expectation that these will lead
to the impact which the funder
wishes to achieve. This can be a
sophisticated mapping of the
key concerns addressing a
particular problem, worked up
with policy analysts and service
users which outlines a process
of addressing an issue. But it
could also be a much simpler
understanding derived from
existing work in an area;
Trusts can play a very powerful
role in ensuring that policy and
campaigns work is developed
which reflects the experience of
organisations in their service
provision and through working
with beneficiaries to allow them
to address the underlying causes
of the problems that service
provision throws up. Funders
that support organisations to
help people have more of a voice,
provide the research to underpin
policy and reach out into
communities are in a much
better position to judge whether
to support campaigning or
service development projects
in the future.
The key point is to determine
the overall issue being
Campaigning and service
addressed. Once this is fixed it is
provision often work better in
harness. Recent research shows easier to settle on a timeframe
and necessary actions to achieve
that organisations that both
the desired end. Once this is
advocate and serve are more
successful at tackling social issues done then there can be clarity
about expectations within any
than those with a focus on just
given time-frame.
7
one area. By setting up good
feedback mechanisms as part of
the projects they fund, trusts can
ensure that they work with and
not impose their views on those
organisations and the beneficiaries
they are working with.
Charities have increasingly
focussed on evaluation,
especially in campaigning, and
funders are right to expect more
clarity about the outcome of
work they have funded.
Charities which are able to
demonstrate that their work is
really leading to sustainable
change are more likely to be able
to satisfy funders, who can help
this process by building in
additional resources to allow
this to take place.
Demonstrating impact can be
easier than is often portrayed
and need not be overly complex
or unnecessarily distract from
day-to-day campaigning activity.
Once evaluation has taken place
it is important that charities
communicate what has been
achieved. It is crucial to
demonstrate impact in order
to motivate supporters and
funders alike. Many trusts rightly
ask for outcomes to be
communicated so that learning
can be shared and organisations
held accountable.
‘My theory is that what you will end up
capturing is that ‘we helped 72 blind
babies gain sight,’ as opposed to ‘we found
a metaling problem with children being
born with eye diseases and we were able
to figure out that it was related to some
environmental toxin because they live
in public housing projects that are
contaminated by X, and then wewere
able to deal with the services and then
advocate with the city to change the
products they use.’
Foundation leader 8
8
7
9
Success can be
measured in simple
and complex ways,
both of which are
correct.
F orces for Good Six Practices of High
Impact Non Profits. John Wiley & Sons
Leslie Crutchfield, Heather McLeod
Grant (2007)
uoted in Making American Foundations
Q
Relevant Conversations with 21st Century
Leaders in Philanthropy Foundation works.
Prepared by Lisa Dropkin of Edge Research,
Hollis A. Hope, and Vikki N. Spruill (2006)
Supporting campaigning – a funders guide
Use all of the options Invest in defining
available to you
the problem and
potential solutions
There are a wide variety of
What
works?
Key lessons in supporting
sustainable change
These are drawn from a number of
evaluations and studies of successful
campaigns including Leat, Atlantic
Reports, Proscio, Lofgren et al.
10
tools and ways of campaigning
and influencing. Campaign aims
can range from changing
legislation, policy and practice
to raising awareness and public
campaigning. You can explore
with the grantee what options
are being proposed to support
the ends you want to achieve.
It is often worth investing in
analysis and research to
underpin the change you are
seeking, if this is not already
available.
To be able to understand
the dynamics of an issue it is
important to have the best
political intelligence and an
understanding of what
government and key players
think. Most trusts do not want
to take a lead role in setting
strategy but may want a more
in depth understanding of the
environment they are trying to
influence. Grantees views will
be crucial to this, but it may not
always be wise to rely solely on
their analysis of future issues
and trends. Trusts have often
found it helpful to develop
their own view of what creates
change in an area they are
funding. This can often be done
collaboratively with those you
are funding, where the funder
and grantee jointly agree ways
of bringing about change.
Supporting
effective alliances
and coalitions
Alliances and coalitions can
provide a safe way for trusts to
support strategic interventions
by focusing on capacity building
at a number of different levels
from grassroots to national
organisations. However, it is
helpful to understand the
environment in which you are
working and while trusts may
at times feel frustrated with
apparent duplication not all
issues are amenable to working
in coalitions and sometimes the
transaction costs of maintaining
coalitions are greater than
the benefits.
Co-ordinate
funding partnerships
to strengthen a
campaign
Multiple funders advancing
the same position will maximize
effectiveness when working
as part of an effectively coordinated effort. True Colors
and Esmee Fairbairn coordinated their funding for
separate elements of Every
Disabled Child Matters but
in doing so ensured even
greater leverage.
Use your strength
when necessary
Trusts can bring powerful
additional expertise and
influence to the table. It can
be helpful to discuss with the
grantee how best this can be
deployed. Depending on the
history and scope of the trust
some may want to become
much more actively engaged
in the shaping of the public
message when it can bring
credibility, as with the cluster
munitions ban campaign and
the Diana Memorial Fund.
Support the
infrastructure
as well as the
campaign
While the actual campaigning
is the exciting part good
campaigns don’t happen
without logistical support
and a solid infrastructure.
It is important to help build
the campaign capacity of the
organisation not just support
the campaign. The support
provided to the Special
Educational Consortium
allowed it build capacity in
the sector without which it
would not have been able
to achieve its goals.
Supporting campaigning – a funders guide
Invest for
the long term
Campaigns rarely fit into the
one- or two-year funding
periods. Long-term funding
gives organisations the ability to
plan more realistic strategies.
Trusts that have had the
confidence to fund for the long
term have seen some
remarkable rewards for their
funding. True Colors’ sustained
funding of Every Disabled Child
Matters meant that the process
could be put in place to work
through the necessary policy
and parliamentary stages and
deliver lasting impact.
Support the
monitoring and
evaluation of impact
and promotion
of results
A significant amount of work
has been done in recent years
on evaluating campaigning
impact and this can be
incorporated simply into your
work. Successful organisations
are those who can develop clear
goals and evaluate progress
against these. Supporting
organisations which do this
gives a much better chance of
having real impact. Once done
it is vital to communicate to all
stakeholders what success has
been achieved and to be
held accountable.
The Special
Educational Consortiumsupporting campaigning
infrastructure
The Special Education Consortium represents a wide
range of organisations, from small parents groups to large
VCOs, who develop common policy decisions and influence
government to adopt these. It allows the voluntary and
community sector as a whole to develop policy and keeps
government better informed about key issues.
As the result of a positive evaluation from New Philanthropy
Capital a funder provided a grant to support the
As a consequence the
capacity of the consortium to work full time on
consortium
was able to work
the development of policy over a crucial
closely to influence ministers and
period when the government was
parliamentarians to secure significant changes
making significant change to the
to education legislation and consequent guidance.
education system.
The grant allowed the consortium to hold a number
of policy forums with the wider sector enabling it
to garner a much wider range of views than would have
otherwise been possible and feed these into the
parliamentary process.
Ministers acknowledged the very positive role that the
organisation had played in improving legislation and
guidance. This way of working was so successful that the
consortium then constituted itself as a standing body
rather than coming into existence only when
legislation was proposed. 9
9
11
ase study based on campaigning
C
for Success. Jonathan Ellis. NCVO.
Supporting campaigning – a funders guide
Creating
sustainable
change in
the future
Campaigning has come of age and
should be seen as an integral part of the
way in which voluntary and community
organisation achieve their mission.
Campaigning is not at odds with
service provision but its natural ally.
Trusts and philanthropic organisations
are routinely looking to develop a range
of strategies to achieve their purposes,
and campaigning can be a key
component. For those looking to leverage
their resources and achieve greater
impact campaigning is one of the most
effective ways of bringing about
sustainable change.
12
Looking forward, trusts and
philanthropic organisations have a
When experts working in the sector
major opportunity to shape the future
were asked to name the greatest
direction and impact of the voluntary
achievements of philanthropy it was
and community sector in delivering
campaigning achievements that
sustainable change across a wider range
featured most prominently: the
of social and environmental issues than
abolition of the slave trade; suffrage
ever before. This poses the question for
for women; the banning of handguns
all funders – what would you want your
and landmines; and civil partnerships.
That both historical and contemporary funding to achieve in the future that
campaigning outcomes should appear might match some of the historic
in this list suggests the transformational achievements of the past?
power of supporting campaigning.
Brian Lamb July 2010
Supporting campaigning – a funders guide
About the author
Brian Lamb OBE has held
director-level posts in
campaigning and advocacy in
both Scope and RNID. He has
also been an active member of
a number of government and
ministerial working groups. He
is chair of a national coalition on
and led a national Independent
Inquiry into Special Educational
Needs. He has written widely
on campaigning, evaluation and
policy issues and is chair of
the Campaign Effectiveness,
NCVO advisory group. He is
a founding board member of
Every Disabled Child Matters
Campaign and also lectures on
campaigning and voluntary
sector effectiveness.
Resources
Campaigning Effectiveness,
NCVO have a range of
resources to support influencing
policy and campaigning for
change. Many of these are free
and you can view them by level
of detail or theme here
http://www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/
campaigning-resources
Advocacy Funding
The Philanthropy of
Changing Minds,
Tony Proscio. Grantcraft (2005)
How charitable trusts can
support campaigning activity.
Melanie Griffiths Association of
Charitable Trusts. (2009)
Chris Stalker, Local Voices,
Global Ban: How small grants
to campaigners can contribute
to global change. (2008)
Diana Memorial Fund
http://www.theworkcontinues.
org/downloaddoc.asp?id=64
Funding for Sustainable
Change: Exploring the extent
to which grantmaking trusts
fund campaigning, advocacy
Critical Masses, Social
and influence, Directory of
Campaigning, A guide for
Social Change,
donors and funders,
Amy Rosser and Sarah
Lofgren, G. Lumley, C. O’Boyle, A.
(2008) New Philanthropy Capital Shimmin. (2008)
http://www.philanthropycapital http://www.dsc.org.uk/
.org/publications/improving_
NewsandInformation/
the_sector/improving_
Newsarchive/Fundingfor
charities/campaigning.aspx
SustainableChange
13
Just Change,
Strategies for Increasing
Philanthropic Impact.
Leat, D. Carnegie. (2008)
Mapping Change – Using a
Theory of Change to Guide
Planning and Evaluation,
Anne Mackinnon and Natasha
Amott. Grantcraft. (2006.)
About Campaigning
Effectiveness, NCVO
Campaigning Effectiveness,
NCVO supports and empowers
people and organisations to
change their world through
campaigning and influencing
policy. We bring together
experience and expertise and
drive excellence in campaigning
and policy work across civil
society by providing support,
knowledge, tools and resources.
For further information
about our work go to
www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/
campaigningeffectiveness
Why Supporting Advocacy
Makes Sense for foundations.
Atlantic Reports (2008)
http://www.atlantic
philanthropies.org/learning/
atlantic-report/investingchange-why-supportingadvocacy-makes-sensefoundations
The future role of the third
sector in social and economic
regeneration: final report.
Treasury. (2007)
Winning a new priority
for disabled children:
the every disabled child
matters campaign
Steve Broach, Ben Coleman
and Louise Franklin. J. Public
Affairs 9: 1–6 (2009)
UK Philanthropy’s Greatest
Achievements – A researchbased assessment of
philanthropic success.
Beth Breeze.
Institute of Philanthropy.
Speaking Out – Guidance on
Campaigning and Political
Activity by Charities, CC9,
Charity Commission guidance.
www.charitycommission.gov.
uk/publications/cc9.asp
Supporting campaigning – a funders guide
National Council for
Voluntary Organisations
Regent’s Wharf
8 All Saints Street
London N1 9RL
T: 020 7713 6161
F: 020 7713 6300
E: [email protected]
www.ncvo-vol.org.uk
Textphone: 0800 01 88 111
Charity Registration: 225922
This guide was published in July 2010
SteersMcGillan Design Ltd 01225 465546
This resource has been produced by
Campaigning Effectiveness, NCVO as
part of the campaigning and advocacy
workstream funded by Capacitybuilders.